The present invention is directed to an apparatus for preparing, on a mass production basis, vehicle wheels for a dynamic balancing operation. The dynamic balancers support the wheel adjacent its central opening or bore upon a horizontal platform from which an expandible collet projects upwardly through the wheel bore to clamp the wheel for rotation during the balancing operation. For optimum results of the balancing operation, it is essential that the wheel be chucked by the collet in the balancer with the wheel axis precisely coaxial to the axis of rotation of the balancer. Irregularities in the surfaces of the wheel engaged with the balancer, such as weld splatter, paint lumps and dirt particles can interfere with the achievement of the desired coaxial relationship between the wheel and balancer, and can also be knocked loose from the wheel during the chucking operation and get into the collet of the balancer to the point where frequent disassembly and cleaning of the collet is required.
The present invention is designed to "clean" the wheel surfaces which will be engaged by the balancer prior to the balancing operation. The "cleaning" operation performed by the apparatus to be described below might more accurately be characterized as a scraping operation. However, the operation is not intended to remove any metal of the wheel and, if possible, not to remove any more paint than is necessary to achieve flat or truly cylindrical surfaces for presentation to the balancer.
The apparatus, because of the random mix of wheels required by the production line, is also operable to self adjust itself to wheels of different dimensions.